Microsoft on Thursday issued a major new update to Skype for Mac alongside a new preview for Windows desktop. Available as a free download, Skype for Mac 7.0 brings out mobile-inspired look with a revamped chat experience, ahead of OS X Yosemite release later this month.

The richer chat experience allows you to chat and call simultaneously with one click and keep the conversation going across devices.

You’ll also appreciate improvements to the free group video calling feature and the fact that the overall appearance of the app fits right in with OS X Yosemite.

Skype for Mac, now a 64-bit application, features a sidebar for easier sharing of images while on a call. “With the new side-by-side design, you can effortlessly multi-task on a voice or video call,” the team noted in a blog post announcing the new version.

It works like a charm: you can share messages, photos or files for a more active conversation together, without ever leaving your call.

Other chat changes include large emoticons, limited rich text formatting and chat bubbles that are consistent with Skype’s mobile apps. File transfers have been enhanced as well with inline images and easier sharing of PDFs, Office files and other document types.

Additional Mac screenshots follow right below.

And here’s the new Skype for Windows preview.

If Skype is already installed on your Mac, open it and choose Check For Updates… under the Skype menu to update your copy to the latest version available.

Now this is a complete finish of how Skype should look like and feel on mac. Waiting for Yosemite final 😉

dudewassup

Does this handoff to the iPhone app?

#Yussef van de Dag!

iL0veSkype

Marcus

I hate it so much…

Marcus

To elaborate more on this… Skype is way to simple now. They forced to much change in one update and now it feels really weird to use Skype. Everything is clear and it feels to simple. It’s not all colorful like it used to be and it’s not as fun to use. I recommend that nobody updates.